Hundreds of civil servants skip first day of work

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

A regular practice the first working day after the Idul Fitri break, the inspection was also conducted in the neighboring city of Depok.

The first office Prijanto visited was the personnel affairs bureau on the sixth floor of City Hall.

Accompanied by city personnel affairs bureau head Sukesti Martono, Prijanto asked for printouts from a finger print recording device used to register civil servants on duty.

"Four out of 173 employees are absent today (Monday) -- one is on maternity leave and the others are taking courses," Prijanto announced.

"But I'm looking forward to seeing the official documentation for their leave."

Next, Prijanto went to the seventh floor, to the city supplies office.

He noticed that six of eight civil servants absent had yet to provide official leave statements to their supervisor.

All civil servants off duty without a "reasonable official statement, who could not account for their irresponsibility" will be subject to punishment for their absence, although "overall, I feel satisfied," Prianto said.

"We will wait two or three days for civil servants to provide official leave statements" he said.

In the meantime, a similar inspection, held at the behest of Depok Mayor Nur Mahmudi Ismail, found 37 out of around 6,000 civil servants absent from Depok administration.

"Penalties will apply for those absent today (Monday), except for those who are sick or on maternity leave," Suhadi, head of the training and careers development division at the Depok Personnel Affairs Bureau, said.

Meanwhile, Prijanto said he was also expecting staff attendance reports from city officials at a meeting later that day.

The meeting concluded that 1,519 out of 27,591 Jakarta civil servants, including 500 who failed to provide official reasons for leave, were not present Monday at their offices, city Secretary Ritola Tasmaya said.

He said the number absent this year was slightly less than last year's 1,600.

Echoing Prijanto, Ritola and Suhadi said civil servants absent without leave would be punished according to government regulations.

"The punishment will vary, from delayed payment of monthly wages to delayed promotion or demotion," Ritola said.